DOVER Pathfinder Satellite to be Launched by Virgin Orbit

The first RHEA Group satellite dubbed DOVER Pathfinder will be launched by Virgin Orbit in the company's inaugural UK mission. The international engineering and solutions firm is working with Open Cosmos to design, build and operate its mission. Open Cosmos and RHEA have selected Virgin Orbit from its UK business to carry the satellite, DOVER Pathfinder (DOVER), to Low Earth Orbit aboard its historic flight from Spaceport Cornwall later this year. The mission will mark the first time in history that a satellite launch has been conducted from British soil, helping fulfill the goals of the UK government to enable full end-to-end space capability.

“The work RHEA will do with DOVER will help to assure reliable navigation, which touches all of us and can be vital for everything from environmentally efficient shipping to national security.”

Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart.

DOVER is funded in part by the UK Space Agency through the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Navigation Program (NAVISP), which was created to support innovation and competitiveness in the European position, navigation, and timing (PNT) landscape. The DOVER satellite, for which the payload was designed by the RHEA team in the UK, and is built by UK-based Open Cosmos, will serve as a pathfinder for resilient global navigation satellite systems.

“The fact that the DOVER Pathfinder satellite was designed and built in the UK by Open Cosmos, was co-funded by the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency, and now will be launched by Virgin Orbit from Spaceport Cornwall, is a great example of the power that comes with the infusion of space collaboration taking place across the globe,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart. “The work RHEA will do with DOVER will help to assure reliable navigation, which touches all of us and can be vital for everything from environmentally efficient shipping to national security.”

RHEA Group is privately-owned and has specialized in providing bespoke engineering solutions, system development and security services for space, military, government, and other critical infrastructures since its founding in 1992.

Emma Jones, RHEA UK Business Director, noted that the first RHEA Group satellite was named after the Dover Strait, the narrowest part of the English Channel which is also known to possess the busiest shipping lanes. Historically, the Dover Strait has been a key location for testing new techniques for PNT.

Open Cosmos is focused on the delivery of satellite missions and the data of the world they can gather from space. Since its creation in 2015, it has developed multiple advanced satellites for telecommunications, earth observation, navigation, and science.

This first-ever orbital launch from British soil will also be Virgin Orbit’s first overseas flight. It will also serve as LauncherOne’s fifth consecutive mission carrying commercial and government customers since beginning operations in 2021, an achievement which demonstrates its ability to launch from any 747-capable airfield globally. Virgin Orbit has been working closely with the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Royal Air Force (RAF), and the Spaceport Cornwall team to make all necessary preparations for mission liftoff.

(Image provided with Virgin Orbit news release)